The present invention is directed to improvements in training manikins of the type used by hospitals, medical schools, and other similar facilities. Training manikins are well known in the art and are meant to simulate conditions in human patients which are to be treated by medical personnel. Thus, the typical training manikin is of the size, shape and weight of a human subject and typically includes analog mechanical structures which correspond to the human organs or body parts which are being manipulated or worked upon by the medical student or trainee. Additionally, many modern manikins include complex actuators, motors, speakers and the like which simulate human movement and/or sounds as well as computer systems to control that movement in accordance with a simulation of a selected disease or condition. Exemplary medical manikins are manufactured by companies such as Laerdal Medical AS, Armstrong Medical, Inc., and BLS Medical, just to name a few.
Typically, these medical manikins present several problems. First, these manikins are expensive to purchase and often easily damaged. Therefore, when transporting these manikins from place to place users must pay particular attention to ensure that the manikins are not damaged. Additionally, medical manikins are cumbersome to transport due to their size, shape, and weight. This is particularly the case in dealing with full sized manikins. Despite these problems, end users are not provided with an efficient and customized method for transporting and/or storing these expensive and delicate pieces of equipment.
Therefore it is an object of the present invention to provide a cart for transporting and/or storing, a number of medical manikins. It is a further object of the invention to provide a cart for recharging a number of medical manikins during transportation and/or storage. It is a still further object of the invention to provide a cart for easy loading and unloading of a medical manikin while still providing for the simultaneous storage of a plurality of medical manikins.